Preventing Wrongful Convictions Using the Justice System

Micheal Sammy December 10, 2016LawyersComments Off on Preventing Wrongful Convictions Using the Justice System788 Views

The criminal justice system helps prevent wrongful convictions, strives for justice, investigates crimes, addresses the victims’ rights, and discovers the truth. One aspect of the criminal justice system is to protect the accused without obstructing the interests of law enforcement. For this reason, there are criminal defense attorneys who legally represent the accused throughout the criminal procedure. With their help, the accused can stand trial and get a fair verdict.

A criminal defense lawyer is a professional who is qualified, skilled, and holds relevant experiences in dealing with different criminal cases. The lawyer is capable of dealing with different kinds of criminal cases and how to properly manage them. The services of a criminal defense attorney are vital, especially during the investigation and the criminal procedure that the defendants go through. The average person will not have the proper knowledge and understanding of the criminal law and its procedures. For this reason, the accused must seek the services of an attorney since they are very knowledgeable about the law and they can even help convince the court to lessen their charges against the accused. The attorney can even convince the court to drop the charges based on insufficient evidence or improper procedure.

Any person has the right to represent himself/herself in court during a criminal procedure. However, the consequences of improper or poor legal advice can be life changing. Failure to understand the criminal justice system and criminal law is not an adequate defense to avoid being found guilty of the criminal charges. Since crimes may range from minor misdemeanor charges to serious felonies, it is very practical for the suspects to call upon the legal services of a criminal defense attorney. The criminal defense attorney is someone who is very knowledgeable about the criminal law and will defend the suspect on his or her behalf. The defense lawyer can even help convince the court to drop the criminal charges against their clients based on improper procedure or insufficient evidence. For instance, there are a lot of situations wherein the officer must have probable cause when making an arrest. Probable cause is the reason to believe that the suspect has committed a crime. The criminal defense lawyer can show and convince the court that the officer did not have any probable cause to investigate the crime scene and make an arrest. If the attorney is successful, the charges filed against their client will be dropped.

The criminal defense lawyer can guide the accused throughout the criminal justice procedure, and this process includes the pre-trial. There are some who choose to retain their lawyer even during the investigation of the crime before the accused is charged with anything. This typically happens when a person is being investigated for being involved in a criminal case. During such instance, the criminal defense lawyer can advise the accused while he or she is being interrogated by the authorities. This will ensure that the accused will not divulge any information that might incriminate him or her. On top of all these, the criminal defense lawyer will also analyze the case and identify its strong and weak points. In some cases, the lawyer will even discuss with their clients all the pros and cons of pleading guilty, especially if there is a plea bargain involved.

Since the criminal procedure can be quite overwhelming for an average person, hiring the services of a criminal defense attorney is the most practical choice to make. It is also the right of the accused to have a lawyer present during their criminal procedure. The services of a criminal defense lawyer are critical in making sure that the rights of the defendants are upheld.